[House Report 108-521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-521

======================================================================



 
              UTAH TEST AND TRAINING RANGE PROTECTION ACT

                                _______
                                

  June 3, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2909]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2909) to ensure the continued availability of the Utah 
Test and Training Range to support the readiness and training 
needs of the Armed Forces, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Utah Test and Training Range 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) The term ``covered wilderness'' means the wilderness area 
        designated by this Act and wilderness study areas located near 
        lands withdrawn for military use and beneath special use 
        airspace critical to the support of military test and training 
        missions at the Utah Test and Training Range, including the 
        Deep Creek, Fish Springs, Swasey Mountain, Howell Peak, Notch 
        Peak, King Top, Wah Wah Mountain, and Conger Mountain units 
        designated by the Department of the Interior.
          (2) The term ``Tribe'' means the Skull Valley Band of Goshute 
        Indians.
          (3) The term ``Utah Test and Training Range'' means those 
        portions of the military operating area of the Utah Test and 
        Training Area located solely in the State of Utah. The term 
        includes the Dugway Proving Ground.
          (4) The term ``Wilderness Act'' means Public Law 88-577, 
        approved September 3, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).

SEC. 3. MILITARY OPERATIONS AND OVERFLIGHTS, UTAH TEST AND TRAINING 
                    RANGE.

  (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
          (1) The testing and development of military weapons systems 
        and the training of military forces are critical to ensuring 
        the national security of the United States.
          (2) The Utah Test and Training Range in the State of Utah is 
        a unique and irreplaceable national asset at the core of the 
        test and training mission of the Department of Defense.
          (3) The Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area designated by section 
        5, as well as several wilderness study areas, are located near 
        lands withdrawn for military use or are beneath special use 
        airspace critical to the support of military test and training 
        missions at the Utah Test and Training Range.
          (4) The Utah Test and Training Range and special use airspace 
        withdrawn for military uses create unique management 
        circumstances for the covered wilderness in this Act, and it is 
        not the intent of Congress that passage of this Act shall be 
        construed as establishing a precedent with respect to any 
        future national conservation area or wilderness designation.
          (5) Continued access to the special use airspace and lands 
        that comprise the Utah Test and Training Range, under the terms 
        and conditions described in this section, is a national 
        security priority and is not incompatible with the protection 
        and proper management of the natural, environmental, cultural, 
        and other resources of such lands.
  (b) Overflights.--Nothing in this Act or the Wilderness Act shall 
preclude low-level overflights and operations of military aircraft, 
helicopters, missiles, or unmanned aerial vehicles over the covered 
wilderness, including military overflights and operations that can be 
seen or heard within the covered wilderness.
  (c) Special Use Airspace and Training Routes.--Nothing in this Act or 
the Wilderness Act shall preclude the designation of new units of 
special use airspace, the expansion of existing units of special use 
airspace, or the use or establishment of military training routes over 
the covered wilderness.
  (d) Communications and Tracking Systems.--Nothing in this Act shall 
prevent any required maintenance of existing communications, 
instrumentation, or electronic tracking systems (or infrastructure 
supporting such systems) or prevent the installation of new 
communication, instrumentation, or other equipment necessary for 
effective testing and training to meet military requirements in 
wilderness study areas located beneath special use airspace comprising 
the Utah Test and Training Range, including the Deep Creek, Fish 
Springs, Swasey Mountain, Howell Peak, Notch Peak, King Top, Wah Wah 
Mountain, and Conger Mountain units designated by the Department of 
Interior, so long as the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation 
with the Secretary of the Air Force, determines that the installation 
and maintenance of such systems, when considered both individually and 
collectively, comply with section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782).
  (e) Emergency Access and Response.--Nothing in this Act or the 
Wilderness Act shall preclude the continuation of the memorandum of 
understanding in existence as of the date of enactment of this Act 
between the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Air 
Force with respect to emergency access and response.
  (f) Prohibition on Ground Military Operations.--Except as provided in 
subsections (d) and (e), nothing in this section shall be construed to 
permit a military operation to be conducted on the ground in covered 
wilderness in the Utah Test and Training Range unless such ground 
operation is otherwise permissible under Federal law and consistent 
with the Wilderness Act.

SEC. 4. PLANNING PROCESS FOR FEDERAL LANDS IN UTAH TEST AND TRAINING 
                    RANGE.

  (a) Analysis of Military Readiness and Operational Impacts.--The 
Secretary of the Interior shall develop, maintain, and revise land use 
plans pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S. C. 1712) for Federal lands located in the Utah 
Test and Training Range in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 
As part of the required consultation in connection with a proposed 
revision of a land use plan, the Secretary of Defense shall prepare and 
transmit to the Secretary of the Interior an analysis of the military 
readiness and operational impacts of the proposed revision within six 
months of a request from the Secretary of Interior.
  (b) Limitation on Rights-of-ways.--The Secretary of the Interior 
shall not grant or issue any authorizations for rights-of-way under 
section 501(a)(6) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(6)) upon Federal lands identified as inventory units 
UTU-020-086, UTU-020-088, UTU-020-095, UTU-020-096, UTU-020-100, UTU-
020-101, UTU-020-103, UTU-020-104, UTU-020-105, and UTU-020-110, as 
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Wilderness Inventory, State of 
Utah'' and dated August 1979, until the later of the following:
          (1) The completion of a full revision of the Pony Express 
        Area Resource Management Plan, dated January 12, 1990, by the 
        Salt Lake Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
          (2) January 1, 2015

SEC. 5. DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS, UTAH.

  (a) Designation.--Certain Federal lands in Tooele County, Utah, as 
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Cedar Mountain Wilderness'' 
and dated March 7, 2004, are hereby designated as wilderness and, 
therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System to be known as the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area.
  (b) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands 
in the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area are hereby withdrawn from all 
forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, 
from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws, 
and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and 
geothermal leasing, and mineral materials, and all amendments to such 
laws.
  (c) Map and Description.--(1) As soon as practicable after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
transmit a map and legal description of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness 
Area to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
  (2) The map and legal description shall have the same force and 
effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the 
Interior may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and 
legal description.
  (3) The map and legal description shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the office of the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management and the office of the State Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management in the State of Utah.
  (d) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights and this Act, 
the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area shall be administered by the 
Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the 
Wilderness Act, except that any reference in such provisions to the 
effective date of the Wilderness Act (or any similar reference) shall 
be deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this Act.
  (e) Land Acquisition.--Any lands or interest in lands within the 
boundaries of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area acquired by the United 
States after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be added to 
and administered as part of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area.
  (f) Fish and Wildlife Management.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of 
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act shall be 
construed as affecting the jurisdiction of the State of Utah with 
respect to fish and wildlife on the Federal lands located in that 
State.
  (g) Grazing.--Within the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area, the grazing 
of livestock, where established before the date of the enactment of 
this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable 
regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary of the Interior 
considers necessary, as long as such regulations, policies, and 
practices fully conform with and implement the intent of Congress 
regarding grazing in such areas, as such intent is expressed in the 
Wilderness Act, section 101(f) of Public Law 101-628 (104 Stat. 4473), 
and appendix A of the Report of the Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs to accompany H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101-
405).
  (h) Buffer Zones.--Congress does not intend for the designation of 
the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area to lead to the creation of 
protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness area. The 
fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard within 
the wilderness area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or 
uses up to the boundary of the wilderness area.
  (i) Release From Wilderness Study Area Status.--The lands identified 
as the Browns Spring Cherrystem on the map entitled ``Proposed Browns 
Spring Cherrystem'' and dated May 11, 2004, are released from their 
status as a wilderness study area, and shall no longer be subject to 
the requirements of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)) pertaining to the management 
of wilderness study areas in a manner that does not impair the 
suitability of those areas for preservation of wilderness.

SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN 
                    UTAH AS TRUST LAND FOR SKULL VALLEY BAND OF 
                    GOSHUTES.

  (a) Identification of Trust Land.--The Secretary of the Interior 
shall identify approximately 640 additional acres of Bureau of Land 
Management land in the State of Utah to be administered in trust for 
the benefit of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes.
  (b) Special Considerations.-- In identifying the land under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall--
          (1) consult with leaders of the Tribe and the Governor of 
        Utah; and
          (2) ensure that the land has ready access to State or Federal 
        highways and, in the judgment of the Secretary, provides the 
        best opportunities for commercial economic development in 
        closest proximity to other lands of the Tribe.
  (c) Placement in Trust.--Not later than December 31, 2005, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall place the land identified pursuant to 
subsection (a) into trust for the purposes of economic development for 
the Tribe. At least 30 days before placing the land in trust for the 
Tribe, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register legal 
descriptions of the land to be placed in trust.
  (d) Management of Trust Land.--The land placed into trust for the 
Tribe under subsection (c) shall be administered in accordance with 
laws generally applicable to property held in trust by the United 
States for Indian Tribes, except that the land shall immediately revert 
to the administrative control of the Bureau of Land Management if the 
Tribe sells, or attempts to sell, any part of the land.
  (e) Effect.--Nothing in this section--
          (1) affects any valid right-of-way, lease, permit, mining 
        claim, grazing permit, water right, or other right or interest 
        of any person or entity (other than the United States) in or to 
        the trust land that exists before the date on which the land is 
        placed in trust for the Tribe under subsection (c);
          (2) enlarges, impairs, or otherwise affects a right or claim 
        of the Tribe to any land or interest in land based on 
        Aboriginal or Indian title that exists before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act;
          (3) constitutes an express or implied reservation of water or 
        water right for any purpose with respect to the trust land; or
          (4) affects any water right of the Tribe that exists before 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LANDS AND LAWS.

  (a) Other Lands.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect 
any Federal lands located outside of the covered wilderness or the 
management of such lands.
  (b) Conforming Repeal.--Section 2815 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65; 113 Stat. 
852) is amended by striking subsection (d).

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2909 is to ensure the continued 
availability of the Utah Test and Training Range to support the 
readiness and training needs of the Armed Forces.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) is the largest 
overland safety land area available to the Department of 
Defense for aircrew training and weapons testing and requires 
unique accommodations. UTTR consists of airspace over vast 
tracts of public lands in the West Desert of Utah, and parts of 
eastern Nevada. It has the largest continuous area of 
restricted airspace from ground-level to 58,000 feet in the 
United States; and is the only place within the United States 
where terrain-following cruise missiles can be tested. It also 
contains vast areas of military-owned land where live fire 
bombings and munitions testing takes place, as well as one of 
the few ranges with a large ``footprint'' of airspace allowing 
for testing of new long-range stand-off weapons. However, 
hundreds of thousands of acres of Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) 
underlie the UTTR airspace and ring the on-the-ground range, 
and the management restrictions of these WSAs amount to a 
significant potential encroachment to the UTTR. Accordingly, 
H.R. 2909 represents years of negotiations with environmental 
groups and other concerned entities to establish through 
statute protections for the UTTR while minimizing the impacts 
on military readiness and mitigating environmental concerns 
over management and access to these sensitive lands.
    Specifically, the bill as amended by the Committee, 
designates certain federal lands in Tooele County, Utah, as the 
Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area. It withdraws such lands from 
all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public 
land laws, including mining and mineral and geothermal leasing; 
however, it allows for continued fish and wildlife management 
and livestock grazing within such areas, as appropriate. In 
addition, nothing in H.R. 2909 as amended, or the Wilderness 
Act shall: (1) preclude low-level overflights and operations of 
military aircraft, missiles, or unmanned aerial vehicles over 
the UTTR, including the Dugway Proving Ground; (2) preclude the 
designation of new or expansion of existing units of special 
use airspace or the use or establishment of military training 
routes over such area; or (4) preclude the continuation of a 
current memorandum of understanding between the Departments of 
the Interior and Air Force with respect to emergency access and 
response within the area. The bill also calls for an area 
contained within the Cedar Mountain Wilderness designated as 
Browns Spring to be released from its current WSA status and 
subsequently managed for multiple uses by the Bureau of Land 
Management. Releasing this area will provide greater access to 
the spring for ongoing maintenance and upkeep.
    Finally, the bill as amended, directs the Secretary of the 
Interior to identify approximately 640 additional acres of 
Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Utah to be 
administered in trust for the benefit of the Skull Valley Band 
of Goshutes. Use of the land by the tribe is limited to 
commercial development.

                            Committee Action

    Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), introduced H.R. 2909 on July 
25, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources 
and within the Committee, the bill was referred to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. 
The Subcommittee met on October 16, 2003 to hear the bill. On 
May 19, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to mark up the 
bill, and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and 
Public Lands was discharged from further consideration of the 
bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Rob Bishop offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill which: (1) 
clarified the lands designated as wilderness and the lands 
being released from wilderness status; and (2) directed the 
Secretary of the Interior to identify 640 acres of land in Utah 
to be held in trust for the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. The 
amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted by voice 
vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8, of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, June 2, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2909, the Utah 
Test and Training Range Protection Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                                         (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2909--Utah Test and Training Range Protection Act

    H.R. 2909 would make several changes to current law that 
would affect federal land in the state of Utah. Specifically, 
the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to 
develop, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, plans 
for managing federal land within the Utah Test and Training 
Range. In addition, the bill would establish the Cedar Mountain 
Wilderness on roughly 99,500 acres of federal land and release 
other land currently designated as a wilderness study area from 
that status. Finally, the bill would direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to select 640 acres of land administered by the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be taken into trust on 
behalf of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes.
    Based on information from BLM, CBO estimates that enacting 
H.R. 2909 would not significantly affect the federal budget. 
According to the agency, the land that would be affected by the 
bill currently does not generate any significant receipts, and 
it is unlikely to do so in the next 10 years. Hence, we 
estimate that altering the status of this land or changing 
management practices would not significantly affect offsetting 
receipts (a credit against direct spending). We also estimate 
that any increased costs for planning and management activities 
would be less than $500,000 annually. Enacting H.R. 2909 would 
not affect federal revenues.
    H.R. 2909 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 
Enacting this legislation would benefit the Skull Valley Band 
of Goshutes by providing them with additional land. It would 
limit the tribe's development opportunities on existing land, 
however, because it would bar rights-of-way across adjacent 
federal land. The bill would impose no other costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and 
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

SECTION 2815 OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 
                                  2000


SEC. 2815. STUDY AND REPORT ON IMPACTS TO MILITARY READINESS OF 
                    PROPOSED LAND MANAGEMENT CHANGES ON PUBLIC LANDS IN 
                    UTAH.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(d) Effect of Study.--Until the Secretary of Defense submits 
to Congress a report containing the results of the study, the 
Secretary of the Interior may not proceed with the amendment of 
any individual resource management plan for Utah national 
defense lands, or any statewide environmental impact statement 
or statewide resource management plan amendment package for 
such lands, if the statewide environmental impact statement or 
statewide resource management plan amendment addresses 
wilderness characteristics or wilderness management issues 
affecting such lands.]

                                  
